Warhammer: Lord of the Endless Monster Horde [308]

The one who spoke was an Imperial Custodian. With Rhode's help, the Emperor's will was able to speak through the Custodian's body.

Of course, this was only possible within Holy Terra itself. Here, the Emperor didn't need to draw on immense psychic power to bridge thousands or even tens of thousands of light-years.

That would require an overwhelming amount of psychic energy—something that even a Custodian's brain couldn't handle. But on Terra, it was no problem. The distance was just too small.

"Follow my order, Custodians. Obey the one called Rhodes, your Primarch. Follow my avatar, and together, purge the daemons from this world.

Two of my sons have returned to the palace. They will help me close the warp rift above Terra," the Emperor's avatar spoke again.

At this moment, all the Custodians could hardly believe their ears! The voice was both familiar and foreign.

Familiar, because every Custodian knew this power intimately, and revered the golden-armored giant who stood before them.

This giant looked exactly like the Emperor they had once served, walking amongst mortals—only, a larger version.

New Custodians were different from those of the old era. The old Custodians were personally chosen and armed by the Emperor himself.

But ever since the Emperor took the Golden Throne, these customs changed.

Now, each Custodian, upon receiving their armor and title, would have a chance to kneel alone before the Throne and spend 24 hours in solitary audience with the Emperor.

During this time, they would face the corpse upon the Throne, and face the Emperor himself.

Deep in their souls, something would tell them—or perhaps it was instinct—that the being addressing them was the true Emperor, but reason told them otherwise!

 Not to trust blindly. At this moment, all Custodians looked to their leader, Captain-General Trajann Valoris, awaiting his decision.

"You should be seated upon the Golden Throne, O Great God-Emperor! Forgive me, but I cannot make a reckless decision," Trajann replied.

He dared not risk it—what if this was a plot by Chaos? If the Custodians left the palace, the last line of defense for the Emperor would fall.

The gigantic Custodian snorted, even raising his weapon as if to attack Trajann and the assembled Custodians.

But the Emperor's avatar simply waved his hand.

"I'll say it again, Trajann, follow the order!

Otherwise, it's treason. Do you need me to remind you what happened the night you knelt before me at the Golden Throne?

Shall I repeat your oath of fealty, your pledge to destroy the enemies of the Imperium?" the avatar spoke.

For ten thousand years he had been a living corpse, unable to move, speak, or even project his will.

But the Emperor himself could still perceive what happened around him, even recalling every Custodian's 24-hour audience, their promises and vows!

With a powerful thought, every Custodian recalled, in vivid detail, what transpired during their vigil before the Emperor!

"Forgive us, Great God-Emperor, forgive our rudeness, forgive our ignorance for doubting you," Captain-General Trajann said, kneeling in fear.

No matter how powerful Chaos was, it could never invade the Emperor's mind or know the secrets between the Emperor and Custodian. Only the Emperor and the Custodian know what passed between them.

The other Custodians also knelt, ashamed to have doubted their oaths.

"I forgive you. This time, your actions are understandable, but there won't be a next time. From now on, the commands of my avatar are my own; you must obey."

"Yes, Emperor!" Trajan replied.

Having convinced his Custodian guards, the Emperor's consciousness left the avatar and returned to his own body.

"Forgive my rudeness, honored Custodian. You were granted armor and weapons by the Emperor himself ten thousand years ago. We are willing to follow your orders," Trajann said, leading the remaining thousands of Custodians to kneel before the gigantic Custodian.

"Your leader is not me. Let us meet our new commander together—Lord Rhodes, the mighty Primarch," the Custodian indicated.

Rhodes now stepped before Trajan, revealing his true identity on Holy Terra for the first time.

"Rhodes! It's you! How is this possible?" Trajan was stunned. Wasn't this the one who came to repair the Golden Throne with the Xenos? Wasn't he the servant of that Eldar, Lord Loki?

"Marshal Trajan, I was once the Emperor's chosen, and due to certain events, became a Primarch.

I was personally empowered by the Emperor, became a Primarch, and even founded my legion.

Last time on Terra, I hid my identity. There never was a Loki or any Eldar noble!

 Maybe this will jog your memory?" Rhodes smiled, activating his transformation and reverting to his previous Eldar appearance.

Trajan's eyes went wide. In an instant, he understood everything, his mind racing.

All Custodians, for all their martial prowess, are also top tacticians and commanders.

Each Custodian receives the best Imperial education—a blend of martial and scholarly excellence, their superhuman minds able to grasp the full picture in an instant.

"This is truly shocking, Lord Rhodes. So when you stood by the Golden Throne, you were conversing with the Emperor himself?" Trajan asked.

Every time Rhodes accompanied his wife to pray before the Throne, he would stand silently by the Throne, looking up, but never praying.

Trajan had always wondered, but now he understood: Rhodes was speaking directly to the Emperor.

How incompetent of him, Trajan thought, to have missed this all along!

 Though even if he had realized earlier, he probably wouldn't have believed it at the time.

"We'll explain everything else later. For now, your task is to follow me and slaughter every daemon on this planet," said Rhodes.

"Understood, Lord Rhodes. All Custodians will obey your orders. Those gigantic titan beasts—are they our allies?" Trajan asked, pointing at the monstrous creatures rampaging through the daemon hordes.

One figure, a massive green female, stood out—an intelligent being, perhaps an Eldar.

"They are all my allies, my subordinates. They've used a new technology to become gigantic.

The Custodian before you was also transformed through my special procedure," Rhodes explained.

"We await your orders, Lord Rhodes!"

Rhodes began assigning tasks: teams of 100 Custodians would advance with their monster allies toward the palace perimeter.

Inside the palace, many Imperial Fists and mortal soldiers still remained, and Rhodes immediately recruited them into the counterattack.

Rhodes also spent 200,000 system credits to summon two more Ace Killers.

Using the Emperor's psychic light, he transformed them into Emperor avatars, then spent tens of thousands more credits to further empower them.

Four gigantic Emperor avatars now appeared on the battlefield, delivering a crippling blow to daemon morale. These avatars, in addition to Rhodes' enhancements, also received the Emperor's blessings.

Wielding swords kilometers long, they slaughtered daemons by the thousands.

The avatars were extremely fast, could fly, and fire beams of light.

It wouldn't take long for them to exterminate every daemon on the planet. The four avatars struck out in four directions—north, south, east, and west.

Behind them followed monsters, Custodians, and mortal soldiers.

"Marshal Trajan! What about the High Lords and Senate?"

"Lord Rhodes, they're being protected inside the palace."

"I see. Go lead the armies outside, Marshal. I'll personally hold the palace." Rhodes, now gigantic, stood before the palace gates.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Rhodes planned to deal with the High Lords and Senate while he had the chance.